Bus and Taxi Shelters

Asset Management Plan – Bus and Taxi Shelters

Bus and Taxi Shelters This Supporting Section should be read in conjunction with Council’s Asset Management Plan, the Asset Management Policy (which sets out Council's philosophy of asset management) and Council’s Asset Management Strategy and Strategic Direction documents (which provides Council with a clear direction and goal for managing the community's $1.178 billion (as at June 2012) worth of assets). These documents can be found at http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/city-of-wagga-wagga/engineering-services/assetmanagement-introduction/asset-management-plan .

This is the second edition of the Bus and Taxi Shelters Supporting Section of the Asset Management Plan and is based on the most current data available as at September 2012.

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Current Asset Base

The following table highlights the proportion of the bus and taxi shelter network in the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area (LGA) in each condition ranging from excellent to very poor as at June 2012 compared to June 2010.

Excellent Good Average Poor Very Poor TOTAL

Network 2010 5.3% 45.6% 26.3% 22.8% 0%

3 26 15 13 0 57

Network 2012 13.6% 40.7% 20.3% 22% 3.4%

8 24 12 13 2 59

The colours in the above table appear in the following map and indicate the condition of each asset in the bus and taxi network in the Wagga Wagga LGA.

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Network Map as at June 2012

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Size of the Network Council owns and maintains 59 bus and taxi shelters within the Wagga Wagga urban area and the rural villages of the LGA. The size of this network has increased by 2 shelters since 2010. The value of this infrastructure network is estimated to be $796,500 (in 2012 dollars).

Challenges of the Network •

Over recent years there have been changes to the design requirements of bus and taxi shelters to include additional features, for example tactile markers to assist people who are visually impaired. This has increased the cost of construction of a public shelter, which has been reflected in additional funding available.

•

Vandalism is a major issue at some bus and taxi shelters. The cost to remove graffiti and replace broken panels is significant in some areas of the Wagga Wagga LGA.

•

The bus shelters are constructed on bus routes, pedestrian linkages and near key community services. If the bus routes change the shelters become obsolete and are not used or in some instances used for something other than their intended purpose.

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Condition Assessment

Condition Ratings Reference Sheet The condition of bus and taxi shelters is audited against a rating scale which ranges from excellent to very poor. This scale is used as the basis of all assessments of bus and taxi shelters by Council’s Surveillance Team. The rating scale forms the Condition Rating Reference Sheet below.

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Condition Inspection Regime The condition of the bus and taxi shelter network will be assessed as part of the Condition Inspection Regime. This inspection will audit the condition of the bus and taxi shelters against the Condition Rating Reference Sheet. The entire bus and taxi shelter network will be audited every year.

The inspections will be in the form of a GPS audit routine for all bus and taxi shelters in the Wagga Wagga LGA. The inspections will identify: • • • • • •

condition areas of damage untidiness graffiti need for repainting and broken panels

The information gathered in the annual condition inspection of each shelter in the network provides Council with sufficient information to develop works schedules, with the aim to reduce the risk resulting from a shelter in poor condition.

Unscheduled Inspection Regime Ad hoc inspections will be conducted in response to customer requests, on a needs basis and where the asset degrades due to unforeseen or unusual circumstances, like a storm event. These inspections are done onsite by trained Surveillance Officers and the results are captured in Council’s Asset Management System.

Risks associated with the bus and taxi shelter network are indentified on an ad hoc basis by Council staff who attend to the shelter and the community members who use the shelters, through Council’s Customer Request System.

More information regarding Council’s risk management practices can be found in the Asset Management Plan, at http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/city-ofwagga-wagga/engineering-services/asset-management-introduction/assetmanagement-plan .

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Life Cycle Management

Life cycle management details how Council plans to manage and operate the asset category at the agreed level of service while minimising life cycle costs throughout the useful life of the asset.

For most local government assets there are four key phases to the life cycle, namely: acquisition, operation and maintenance, renewal, and disposal.

Further information about life cycle management and the processes used by Council to manage each stage of the life cycle can be found in the Asset Management Plan at http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/city-of-waggawagga/engineering-services/asset-management-introduction/assetmanagement-plan .

Acquisition The acquisition of bus shelters involves an annual review of the existing network (including location, type, condition and anticipated usage rates), the current bus routes and areas where demand is expected to grow or a need exists across the Wagga Wagga LGA. When a bus or taxi shelter is built details are recorded in Council’s Asset Management System and the new asset is included in the appropriate inspection regimes.

Maintenance Target Maintenance Events The following table details the target maintenance events associated with bus and taxi shelters annually.

Bus and Taxi Shelter Network Target Maintenance Events Event

Target Maintenance Events per Year

Vegetation Removal

Twice

Painting round tops

Every second year

Cleaning

One provision of service per year per shelter

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Unscheduled Maintenance To guide Council’s response to registered requests in Council’s Customer Request System, reactive triggers (based on the level of risk) have been developed for each asset category. These triggers include intervention activities and target response times. Whilst Council aims to achieve these target response times, situations can arise that hamper Council’s efforts and response times may be extended for reasons including, but not limited to resource availability, excessive workloads and emergency events which impact the network.

The following table details the reactive triggers, intervention and target response times for unscheduled maintenance of the bus and taxi shelter network.

Bus and Taxi Shelters Target Intervention for Unscheduled Maintenance Reactive Trigger Intervention Target Response Time Graffiti Remove within 2 working days Vandalism/breakage Repair within 2 working days Rubbish/illegal dumping Remove within 3 working days

Renewal A detailed works program for the renewal of the bus and taxi shelter network is developed annually to support this Asset Management Plan. This renewal program is prioritised based on the results of the condition audits.

The renewal plan is developed by Council’s Asset Integrity Section based on the data in Council’s Asset Management System. The renewal plan is recommended to the Business Owner of the bus shelter network, who decides the works to be implemented.

The implementation of the works program depends on the level of funding available in Council’s budget, as detailed in the Long Term Financial Plan or grant funding received.

The renewal of a bus and taxi shelter could be in the form of a complete replacement or the replacement of a component of the shelter. This level of detail is captured during the condition audits of the network and included in the works program.

Once a shelter is renewed the data is captured in Council’s Asset Management System.

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Disposal Currently, Council includes the cost to dispose of an asset in the unit rate of that asset type. As Council moves towards strategic asset management this cost will be captured separately. The Asset Management Plan will be updated to reflect this change as it occurs across the asset types.

Disposal of assets in this network with the intent not to replace is usually in response to reductions in usage rates. This can be affected by changes in the bus routes or changes in demographics of a suburb for example.

Disposal can also occur when a shelter is renewed. In some circumstances an old shelter which doesn’t meet the legislative requirements is replaced with a new one. The opportunity for this to occur is identified as part of the annual review of the network.

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Level of Service

The level of service for each asset category defines what Council intends to deliver to the community with respect to its assets and the level of service the community can afford. The level of service for each asset category is being developed in the coming years and will be based on community expectations, legislative requirements and internal Council policy.

When developed, the level of service for each asset category will focus on how the community experiences the asset (relating to factors such as condition, quality, reliability, responsiveness, sustainability, timeliness, accessibility, cost and functionality) and technical characteristics required to deliver the asset.

There is a direct relationship between the level of service provided by an asset and the cost to provide it. As the level of service becomes higher, the cost to provide it also increases. As Council moves towards strategic asset management, Council will consider these two factors in relation to each asset category and for the infrastructure network as a whole.

In 2012 the level of service for each asset category is based on the satisfactory condition of the asset, coupled with Council’s target response times and actions for unscheduled maintenance activities as contained in this Asset Management Plan section.

For more details about the level of service for asset categories please see the Asset Management Plan at http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/city-of-waggawagga/engineering-services/asset-management-introduction/asset-managementplan.

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Satisfactory Condition In Council’s first Asset Management Plan of 2011 the satisfactory condition for the bus shelter network was set at average.

The following graph details the proportion of the bus and taxi shelter network in each condition. The graph is based on condition data from the Asset Management System as at 2009/10 and 2011/12.

As indicated on the graph the overall condition of the network has remained fairly constant. The number of shelters in excellent condition has increased by five. Shelters in good and average condition have both decreased by three and the number of shelters in a very poor condition has increased from zero to two. Therefore as the level of service for this asset category is average, the percent of the network not meeting the level of service has increased from 22.8% to 25.4%.

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Financial Considerations

Current Liability Council’s current liability in relation to the infrastructure network is the sum of all asset units which have a condition rating of less than average and are therefore deemed unsatisfactory. The current liability of the bus and taxi shelters network is estimated to be $167,376 (in 2012 dollars) down from $297,000 in 2010.

The decrease in the current liability is due to improvements in the methodology used to calculate of the figure. In 2010 the entire unit rate of a bus and taxi shelter was applied to the number of shelters in poor and very poor condition. In 2012 the methodology was improved, resulting in a proportion of the unit rate being applied to each bus shelter with a condition rating of poor and very poor which reflects the details of the condition data. The current liability of a shelter in poor condition which could be repaired rather than totally replaced for example, is estimated to be the cost of the repairs rather than the entire unit rate. As a result the number of bus and taxi shelters in poor and very poor condition has increased, while the current liability has decreased.

The following table provides the details of the bus and taxi shelters network current liability in 2010 and 2012.

Asset Condition

4 – Poor 5 – Very Poor Total Current Liability

Current Liability 2010 Amount Estimated Cost in 2010 dollars 14 $257,400 0 $39,600 14 $297,000

Current Liability 2012 Amount Estimated Cost in 2012 dollars 13 $126,737 2 $40,639 15 $167,376

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Bus and Taxi Shelters Projected Annual Maintenance Costs For Council to achieve the target maintenance events as detailed in Section 3 of this Asset Management Plan, the projected annual maintenance budget for the bus and taxi shelters network is estimated to be $99,437 (in 2010 dollars).

This estimate was developed by Council’s Asset Management Planning and Program Integration Teams in 2010. It is a first principle estimate and is expected to vary as Council improves its asset management processes and strategies.

The following table provides further details of the estimated costs associated with maintaining the bus and taxi shelters network each year: Bus and Taxi Shelter Network Projected Annual Maintenance Event

Projected Annual Maintenance Costs

Cleaning

$33,000

Vegetation Removal

$13,637

Minor Repairs

$13,200

Vandalism repair of glass shelters

$18,000

Painting round tops

$21,600

Required Increase to Annual Maintenance Cost per Additional Unit As the asset base increases it is important to ensure that the annual maintenance budget also increases. The following table details how much per unit the annual maintenance budget for bus and taxi shelters should increase as the network expands (in 2010 dollars).

Required Increase to Maintenance Budget for Additional Bus and Taxi Shelters Bus and Taxi Shelter Type

Maintenance Costs per Year per Bus and Taxi Shelter

Glass Shelter

$1,730.81

Round Top

$2,437.95

Other

$1,087.95

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Assumptions

There are some generic assumptions made in the management of assets in Wagga Wagga City Council, these are found in the Asset Management Plan at http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/city-of-wagga-wagga/engineering-services/assetmanagement-introduction/asset-management-plan.

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